Problems in sex life could be an early indicator of a serious disease. These diseases are described in detail below.

Sex problems can be the tip of the iceberg

Your doctor probably rarely asks you about your sex life. This usually happens when the symptoms you’ve developed can be linked to your bed activities. In many cases,problems in sex life indicate other health problems. A simple question and the doctor’s honest reply can save your life. Dr. Andrew McCullough said: “If a man comes in with erectile dysfunction, it can be the tip of the iceberg.” Canadian and Dutch doctors conducted a joint study to determine how many men had sex problems before coming down with a serious disease. The goal of the research was to establish whether problems in sex life can be a warning sign of a heart attack, diabetes, depression, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.

Patients are unwilling to talk about their problems

Doctors often make a mistake by thinking that patients will provide them the information important for their work. As patients don’t know what is important, they often give the doctor unimportant data, i.e. unimportant for a diagnosis. In general, patients are very unwilling to talk about their sex life. Dr. Jonathan Zenilman said: “People aren’t going to volunteer that kind of information unless they’re specifically asked.” Every time you see a doctor, he should ask you about your sex life, with whom you’re having sex, how many sexual encounters you have per week and if you have safe sex. Erectile dysfunction could be a sign of heart problems, particularly in older men. Of 132 men who suffered from heart diseases, almost half of them had erectile dysfunction.

Sex problems can be an early indicator of a disease

“The first manifestation of early diabetes could be erectile dysfunction,” Zenilman said. “It may not be what men want to hear, but if it’s caught early enough, you can still do something about it.”

In women, sex problems can also indicate a disease. Many women who suffer from depression already notice a decline in sexual desire before they develop depression. Almost 30% of women lose their sexual desire before the first symptoms of depression appear. Since depression is difficult to detect even by doctors, a simple question about sex life would provide the information important for diagnosing depression. Along with other symptoms, problems in sex life can indicate hormone problems, kidney failure, diabetes and other chronic diseases. However, it’s much more difficult to detect this connection in women.

People are highly motivated to undergo treatment if they have assurances that their sex life will improve. They eat a healthy diet and make lifestyle changes, but they often fail to change their lifestyle only because of a disease itself. Namely, the medications used to treat the disease cover its negative symptoms.